cant recall how I did this once. theres a file to edit but which one?

dashboard->settings->discuession->Break comments into pages with -- top level comments per page and the ------- page displayed by default

on the main page, the recent comments widget... there are 15 comments... how do I change that to show only 10?

Your first reply did not work. I may not have made my question clear enough.

You will have to look at the documentation for that widget

Originally Posted by macgig

on the main page, the recent comments widget... there are 15 comments... how do I change that to show only 10?

Your first reply did not work. I may not have made my question clear enough.

Are you talking about if you have added no widgets on your own and the default widgets are in the sidebar. If that is the case just add the widgets you want. The Recent Comments Widget has a box for setting the number of comments you want to display.